Water agency scores 'milestone' pact with Conaway Group

The Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency is claiming another victory following a "milestone" agreement with Conaway Preservation Group over water rights.

Under the agreement, formalized last week by the state Water Resources Control Board, 10,000 acre-feet of "senior water rights" will be transferred from Conaway to the water agency.

This adds to 45,000 acre-feet of water already approved by the state, officials said.

"The new licenses represent a huge milestone for the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency," Woodland Councilman Bill Marble, who chairs the water agency, said in a statement. "The new senior water rights are critical to helping us provide water during summer months when our other water right may have limits imposed."

Those in possession of senior water rights have first priority over use of that watershed. The Woodland-Davis water agency bought the rights under a 2010 contract with Conaway Preservation Group, manager of the 17,300-acre Conaway Ranch property east of Woodland.

The contract also provides easements to build pipelines from a proposed water intake facility at the Sacramento River over Conaway Ranch lands to Woodland, Davis and UC Davis.

The $39 million water intake facility is a cornerstone of the agency's $245 million regional water supply project. Project objectives include improving water supply quality and reliability.